ACT Government leads in waste innovation
Canberra is set to trial Smart Bins to tackle waste
Canberra, ACT, 02 June 2016: In an Australian Capital Territory first, the ACT Government will deploy Bigbelly Solar Powered rubbish bins across three new Canberra locations. The smart bins, which hold more than 4 times the amount of have been deployed as part of a 12 month trial to gather data for the ACT Government’s Waste Feasibility Study.
The appropriately named Bigbelly® bins use the sun’s energy to power an internal compactor that compacts the rubbish at the point of disposal, significantly increasing capacity by almost five times within the same sidewalk location as ordinary 140L rubbish bins. By increasing the capacity, the bins reduce overflow issues, reduce the number of collection trips required and can cut related fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions.
And that’s not where the benefits stop. The smart, cloud-connected Bigbelly system gathers, consolidates, and analyses data from connected waste and recycling units for a complete waste management solution that beautifies public spaces and increases operational efficiency. Sensors and intelligence triggers notify waste collection employees when units near capacity, aiding in optimised collection scheduling and public space cleanliness.
“The ACT Waste Feasibility Study will use the data gathered from this trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the bins to assist the government to determine future financial and environmental savings available. The study is investigating a range of options around how best to manage and minimise waste in the ACT and surrounding regions now and into the future. This trial will help the government to decide an appropriate plan of action around bin quantities, size, location and collection frequency” stated ACT Minister for Transport and Municipal Services Meegan Fitzharris.
The capacity of the bins, matched with the collection alert technology will greatly benefit waste collectors from the ACT’S Territory and Municipal Services. The data captured from the smart bins will provide around-the-clock fullness level data, collection activity information and will create a more efficient waste management solution to better optimise collection schedules and public space cleanliness in the ACT.
“We are currently emptying rubbish bins at Kingston three times a week. We now expect to be able to reduce this to once or twice a week depending on usage and events in the area such as the Old Bus Depot markets. This is a significant saving over a year, for example” said Minister Fitzharris.
Not only is the deployment a first for the ACT, but the ACT Government follows some great examples of deployments of Bigbelly’s in cities worldwide such as New York, Los Angeles, London and closer to home, City of Melbourne.
The ACT Government is committed to continually improving waste management with the government aiming to achieve clean environment and a carbon-neutral waste sector by 2025.
The Bigbelly stations will be deployed in three locations in Wright, Campbell and Kingston.
The smart bins have been deployed and will be monitored by ACT Government waste collectors and Solar Bins Australia, Australia’s leading smart waste provider.
Managing Director of Solar Bins Australia, Leon Hayes stated “The ACT Government’s Waste Feasibility Study is a significant study for not only waste management in the ACT and the region but across Australia. A deployment of Bigbelly’s speaks to the goals set out in the ACT Waste Management Strategy 2011-25.”
“This is achieved by educating the community through the awareness of our smart bins, providing the opportunity for increased public place waste collection, total containment of waste by the Bigbelly, meaning no overflowing bins and a reduction in wasted vehicle collections meaning a significant reduction in carbon emissions.”
We have seen worldwide the benefits of the Bigbelly and smart waste technology can bring to the community, visitors and the environment. We will work with the ACT Government on a street level to ensure the benefits of the Bigbelly are realised”.
About the ACT
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is a self-governing territory in the south east of Australia. The only city in the ACT is Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The estimated resident population of the ACT as at 30 June 2015 was 390,757 persons.
About Bigbelly
Bigbelly, Inc. is the world-leading provider of smart waste & recycling management solutions with more than 1,500 customers in 47 countries. Solar powered, the Bigbelly Smart Waste & Recycling System combines cloud computing with smart compacting waste and recycling stations.
About Solar Bins Australia – www.solarbins.com.au
Solar Bins Australia is Australia’s leading provider of smart waste and recycling management solutions with more than 50 customers across all states of Australia. As the exclusive partner to Bigbelly, Inc their systems help customer beautify their public space and reduce operational costs.